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James Mobley of Henry County gets his salt and plow truck topped up Thursday morning by loader Jesse Schenk. The district five branch has four state-owned trucks and 20 contract trucks that work out of Middletown. Jan. 21, 2016(Photo: Matt Stone/CJ)Buy Photo

Batten down the hatches, and just about anything else in sight. The snow cometh.

An updated National Weather Service forecast issued early Thursday predicted that the Louisville area - in the center of a fairly narrow strip along the Ohio River - will get 5 to 9 inches of snow with the snowfall starting around midnight and finally ending Saturday morning.

But that may be small potatoes compared to a wider strip of land across much of Central Kentucky - an area including Elizabethtown, Frankfort and Lexington that is in line for 10 to 14-plus inches of snow.

The heaviest snow may hold off until after the start of rush hour Friday morning with flakes expected to begin falling in the Louisville area between 8 a.m. and noon Friday.

The weather service issued a winter storm warning from 7 p.m. Thursday to 7 a.m. Saturday for much of Kentucky, including Jefferson and nearby counties as well as for Crawford, Harrison, Floyd and Clark counties in Southern Indiana.

These amount the area gets may change as the storm approaches from the west, forecasters said. The weather service said that areas across Southern Indiana may get 3 to 6 inches of accumulation. Ice may be a problem in areas south of Louisville with stiff wind gusts and power outages possible.

The forecast indicated hazardous road conditions are likely late Friday night through Saturday morning with power outages possible in regions hit hard with ice and snow due to winds gusting near 35 mph at times.

Meteorologists said the storm will have the heaviest impact on the mountainous Eastern Kentucky before heading on east Saturday. Blizzard or near-blizzard conditions and well over a foot of snow are expected this weekend in parts of the East Coast.

While most major employers were open for business Thursday, many people who work can look forward to staying home Friday.

Nearly every job site has its own criteria for deciding whether employees should work, forego coming in, or come in late or leave early. University of Louisville spokesman John Karman, for instance, said the UofL provost has the final say on dismissing classes. He said UofL officials check the weather forecast and road conditions but that the single most-important consideration is whether Belknap Campus parking lots can be cleared to accommodate staff, faculty and students.

Most Louisville-area schools remained closed for a second day Thursday, with the near certainty that they also won't be open Friday as the storm passes.

Six Metro Parks hills were designated open for sledding, and state and metro road crews were expected to have a busy Friday and Saturday.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089, or via email at sshafer@courier-journal.com.

Matt Jamie pushed his daughter Madeline and friend Nikki Thompson down the slope at the Crescent Hill Golf Course, while Madeline filmed the trip with a phone and selfie stick. Jan. 20, 2016. By Pat McDonogh, The CJ

(L-R) Aleasha Huested, right, nailed her daughter Emily Huested, 18, with a snow ball as they played in the snow at Central Park. Her other daughter Hannah Huested, 16, was gathering snow at center.
Jan. 20, 2015 Sam Upshaw Jr.; The C-J